Don't lose your vote - make sure you’re registered

Published Friday, 27th March 2015

Don't lose your vote - make sure you’re registered

On 7 May voters will go to the polls to elect their Member of Parliament and
local councillors.

Register online

As a national advertising campaign is launched by the Electoral Commission to
encourage voter registration ahead of the elections, the Council is urging
residents to register online at: gov.uk/register-to-vote.

You can't vote if you're not registered

John Jory, Electoral Registration Officer for Reigate & Banstead Borough
Council, said: "Time is running short to make sure you can vote in the
elections, so I'd encourage everyone in the borough to register themselves to
vote now if they haven't done so yet.

"Our message is simple: you can't vote, if you’re not registered by 20
April. It's easy to do and only takes a few minutes online at gov.uk/register-to-vote. If you're not
sure whether you're registered, please call us to double check. Don't lose your
vote."

If you haven't received your poll card by 10 April informing you about the
elections in May and where you need to go to vote, contact us on 01737 276794 to
make sure you're registered.

The way we all register to vote changed last year. Now every individual is
responsible for registering themselves.

Myth busting

Recent research conducted by YouGov for the Electoral Commission found
that:

21% of people who rent privately think they’re automatically registered to
vote if they pay council tax.

40% of those surveyed think it is not possible to register to vote online in
England, Scotland and Wales.

69% do not know that the deadline to register to vote, with 13% thinking it
is already too late to register. When given a choice of five options only 32%
correctly identified the deadline as 20 April.

Registering to vote also helps to keep your credit reference up to date.

Postal and proxy vote deadlines

If you'll be away or unable to get to a polling station on election day, the
deadlines for postal and proxy vote applications are also approaching.

Postal vote applications must be received by 5pm on 21 April. The deadline
for applying for a proxy vote for someone else to vote on your behalf is 5pm on
28 April.